tough horses

[BenB]

Rex Magna was a very difficult one, and the almost complete offspring from Shamaraan were not easy the handle
Rex Magna was always guided by two handlers each of them having a iron chain in their hands.

[Gem]

I have a gelding by Lir , a stallion in our area who is renowned for produceing tough but mental offspring , and he can be a little difficult under saddle sometime's, but is still my best riding horse.

[Gem]

Why is it in the english breeding circle if you've got a nutty mare that has ability but is to mad to ride they put it in foal!? It may help the mare but what about the foal's temperment!

[sb]

The horse you're thinking of is Festival of Light, a son of A. P. Indy out ot the Danzig mare Aurora, making him a half to the sire Arch. He was gelded after his first season for savaging a farm employee.

'Festival of Light' was to stand near Dallas, Tx, and he was on my stallion list for one of my mares, but too high for my budget. Then I learned about him having savaged his handler and having been gelded as a consequence. Frankly, I don't believe castration will turn such a stallion around [see John Henry as one example] . Next to no details were given about this unfortunate incident, so one has to wonder.... surely, FOL must have had a bad disposition prior to the attack which shows how dangerous such stallions can be. It's all about testosterone, some of those horses can't 'handle,' lol. Overall, however, TBs count among all breeds as having potentially the most dangeroujs disposition, stallions, geldings, and/or mares alike. TBs were bred to be running machines, and the way they are brought up and handled also doesn't help establish a more people oriented attitude. TBs are least chosen for breeding on the basis of a good disposition, and to that extent, it's even amazing that there aren't more which are not fit to become sportshorses.
I don't know anything about other breeds which also run such as QH, Appaloosas, Paints, and/or Arabs, so it would require a more detailed study to establish the origin of nasty characteristics. None of the before mentioned breeds were actually bred for racing as was/is the TB; Appie, QHs, Arabs, Akhal Tekes, etc, were also used for other purposes and had extensive training for those Exceptions are always part of the generalization, of course. Both the Akhal Tekes and Arabs are the two oldest breeds from which all of our Western breeds have sprung, with the QHs having become the most popular sports and family horse in addition to being used as a race horse; interestingly, the QH has, most likely, the highest %age of TB blood still within the racing category.

sb

[dray33]

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/isd/st ... ilverghost

Go to the video link on the far left. They walk him with full muzzle. Always got a kick outta that one. 'nuff said

[pembroke]

What a great thread...hope there are a LOT MORE posts here....!!! I was at Claiborne last fall looking at stallions and was told that Seeking The Gold is never shown to anyone anymore since he too, will savage his grooms. You aren't even allowed very close to his door. They also told me that Drone was the meanest horse they ever stood. He once reached over the fence and took a toddler out of the arms of her mother!...shook her and dropped her!! Needless to say...they never showed him anymore, either! Watch the Claiborne ad that runs on TVG and watch STG when they are leading him! Pay very close attention to the very beginning of the clip~! I have a Silver Ghost mare that is an absolute sweatheart...but you always wonder if that behavior wiii suddenly, someday, show up. Her babies are sweeties too, so maybe she just didn't inherit "that gene."

[pembroke]

SB...I have raised Appaloosas all my life and can't say that I have ever heard of any who savaged their grooms or more importantly...passed the tendancy on. Since pleasure horses are bred for quiet temperaments, that would certainly be a NO NO! There is a story about one of the more famous foundation stallions....A horse named Colida.....Colida was bought out of the killer pen...supposedly had savaged someone. A few months later he was Grand Champion halter stallion at the national show. For years his owner showed him with no halter or lead....just to prove it was his previous owners and not the horse! Appaloosas, in the fifties and sixties, had the reputation of being bull headed, big footed , stupid and cold-backed instead of mean! This was due, of course, to the fact that when our government took the horses away from the indians, they were bred to ANYTHING to try to get that color. All that draft, mule and mustang blood did them in. With all the TB and QH lines bred into the racing Appaloosa, one would think that if the tendancy was there, it would have shown up by now. Would be interested in hearing from any QH people out there about the OH racing stallions. We boarded a filly here last year who was a granddaughter of Dash For Cash....she was, and still is, downright mean....really wanted to hurt you!

[roving boy]

I once worked with a polo pony that was previously a racing ap (3/4 Thoroughbred). He was one hell of a polo pony but did not care a lick for people. His ground manners were decent but you had to be awake as he would purposely step on your foot or cow kick you if given the opportunity. Not that I have had a lot of experience with aps, but he was the only one I have ever heard of that was anything worse than stubborn or hard-headed.

However, he was a machine on the field!

[smilton]

I purchased a colt from auction as a 2yr old (By Expelled). Amazing hunter looks. Worked on ground manners on a regular basis but at 3 he had to find a new home. He was questionable with women and unpredictable. Could be gentle as a kitten and striking with his front feet the next. Nothing scared him (My now husband (who was at the time unfamiliar with horses) decided to have target practice 20 ft from his paddock and the horse came over to watch. Unfazed. He hated men with a passion. Would try to chase them down and squash them with his front feet. He could undo most stall latches and gates. Untied himself on numerous occations and undid snaps. Even figured out how to take gates off hinges. He was not a horse you wanted to run into by surprise. Looked like an angel until suddenly his horns appeared.

[marg]

Hi;
We were at some of the farms a few years ago and we went to see Carson City.His groom was not there that day, and none of the grooms on duty,would handle him.He had a huge ring attached to his halter so they could catch him with a long pole.They were positively afraid of him.He was a pretty boy but we were not interested in him anymore either.Marg.

[marg]

Me again;
On the same trip ,we went to Darby Dan to see some of the boys.Alleged and His Majesty ,both came out with two handlers,and seemed quite threatening.Marg.

[skeenan]

Eeesh, what horror stories!!

Someone had added in the database that Personal Flag was "difficult to handle"... anyone know? Thankfully, Bell didn't inherit his temperment... she's as sweet as pie!

And the stallion I'm hoping to send her to next April has a nice temperment as well, which is a blessing... although I'll be praying for a filly, I think!! Either way, I hope all the constant handling we'll be doing will make them turn out OK...

[kezeli]

[quote="smilton"]I purchased a colt from auction as a 2yr old (By Expelled). Amazing hunter looks. Worked on ground manners on a regular basis but at 3 he had to find a new home. He was questionable with women and unpredictable. Could be gentle as a kitten and striking with his front feet the next. Nothing scared him (My now husband (who was at the time unfamiliar with horses) decided to have target practice 20 ft from his paddock and the horse came over to watch. Unfazed. He hated men with a passion. Would try to chase them down and squash them with his front feet. He could undo most stall latches and gates. Untied himself on numerous occations and undid snaps. Even figured out how to take gates off hinges. He was not a horse you wanted to run into by surprise. Looked like an angel until suddenly his horns appeared.[/quote]


This is exactly the reason I started this post, not just perverse intrest, although IT IS VERY INTERESTING!! This colt is just like all the "savages" I got when I work on the track. Back then some of the oldtimers didn't want women on the backside so they would try to scare us off by giveing us the toughest stuff in the barn. I think this colt proves what I have always thought to be true, these guys/gals are smarter than the rest, they KNOW they are bigger than us. :wink:

[LSB]

marg, I'm surprised to hear your impressions of Carson City. I saw him several times before his death. I also bred to him and have a foal from his last crop. At no time did I ever see anyone take any special precautions in handling him.

Running loose in his paddock, he answered to his name when called, had a lead shank snapped to his halter and was brought out to the driveway for inspection. I stepped up close to have a good look and was never told that I shouldn't approach (as I was with, say...Storm Bird or Storm Cat.)

When I saw Carson City, there was no huge ring on his halter and he wasn't handled with a pole. And for all his good qualities, he also wasn't a particularly "pretty boy".

[roving boy]

It may have been Tabasco Cat rather than Carson City that had the ring and was caught with a pole?